As ballots trickle in, Jordan Crugnale still leads by 233 votes

A HANDFULL of additional votes, plus changes after rechecks, have been added to the cliff-hanger count in Bass leaving Labor incumbent Jordan Crugnale leading by 233.

The voting update was posted by the Victorian Electoral Commission at 11.35pm on Wednesday night, November 30.

More votes are expected to drop in today with the counting action mostly confined to the Centralised Activity Site (CAS) at the Melbourne Showgrounds.

Here deliveries of postal votes and absentee votes, from all over Victoria, interstate and even overseas, are arriving daily to be added to the count which could continue until December 12, if full recounts are required in some of the closest seats.

At present, Jordan Crugnale (ALP) 18352 leads Aaron Brown (Liberals) 18,119 on a two candidate preferred basis by 233 votes with 77.75% of the ballots counted, including 38,865 total votes of which 36,478 are formal and 2387 informal (6.14%).

Total enrolment in Bass is 49,984 and based on the 2018 election in Bass, when there was a turnout of 91% of voters, there could still be 6600 votes still to be added to the count.

It’s still anyone’s race.

The count in Bass

Candidate by candidate votes in the District of Bass at 11.35pm on Wednesday, November 30:

• Brett TESSARI, The Nationals, 5100 (13.98%)
• Mark O'NEILL, Labour DLP, 1234 (3.38%)
• Marcus MUNDAY, Freedom Party, 798 (2.19%)
• Martin VERHAGEN, Family First, 971 (2.66%)
• Jordan CRUGNALE, Labor, 12,053 (33.04%)
• Elly MOUSELLIS, Animal Justice Party, 897 (2.46%)
• Aaron BROWN, Liberal, 10,857 (29.76%)
• Meg EDWARDS, Independent, 799 (2.19%)
• Callum BUGBIRD, Greens, 2853 (7.82%)
• Jeni JOBE, Independent 916 (2.51%)

Two-candidate preferred

• Jordan CRUGNALE, Labor 18,352 (50.32%)
• Aaron BROWN, Liberal 18,119 (49.68%)